New guidelines to end practices biased towards hiring of foreigners
By Kor Kian Beng, The Straits Times, 1 Nov 2011
THE Government has sent a strong signal to employers that Singapore will not stand for foreign managers who hire and promote their own kind, at the expense of qualified local candidates.
Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin yesterday announced new guidelines taking aim at such discriminatory practices. These include job advertisements that indicate foreigners are preferred, and preferential hiring of foreigners over suitable Singaporeans.
Drawn up by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep), the new guidelines are a response to a spike this year in the number of cases about unfair treatment based on nationality - 51 in the first nine months of this year.
Speaking at a tripartism forum, Mr Tan stressed that while Singapore stays open to foreigners, its own citizens must remain the core of its workforce, a point the Prime Minister had made in his National Day Rally speech in August.
Speaking at a tripartism forum, Mr Tan stressed that while Singapore stays open to foreigners, its own citizens must remain the core of its workforce, a point the Prime Minister had made in his National Day Rally speech in August.
Yesterday, Mr Tan said the Government is taking steps at the national level to moderate the demand for foreign labour, by raising levies, qualifying salaries and qualifications for work permits.
But on the ground, it is for employers to watch what they do. Many Singaporeans have expressed anxiety over discriminatory practices in their workplace, 'including allegations of foreign managers hiring their own kind'.
'Let me emphasise that discriminatory practices have no place in Singapore,' he said. Companies, he added, have a responsibility 'to attract, recruit and develop Singaporeans so that Singaporeans remain at the core of our workforce'.
On why laws are not being enacted to combat discrimination, Mr Tan said complaints about discrimination are not straightforward. To address them involves changing employers' mindsets, which is better done through moral suasion.
On why laws are not being enacted to combat discrimination, Mr Tan said complaints about discrimination are not straightforward. To address them involves changing employers' mindsets, which is better done through moral suasion.
Anti-discrimination laws would also reduce flexibility in the labour market, a strength for Singapore, he said.
Still, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will act against errant employers who persist with discriminatory practices, Mr Tan said.
If an issue cannot be resolved through consultation, MOM has other ways to 'encourage an employer to do the right thing'. It can, for example, slap demerit points on employment agencies for such practices.
Tafep will hold workshops to educate employers and help them adopt the new guidelines.
Both labour chief Lim Swee Say and employers' group chief Stephen Lee threw their support behind the new guidelines.
Mr Lee, president of the Singapore National Employers Federation, said employers recognise that having Singaporeans at the core of their workforce strengthens their long-term competitiveness as foreign workers tend to be more mobile.
He also noted in a dialogue that Singapore's cap on foreigners - which stands at one-third of the three-million workforce - is already one of the highest in the world. Mr Lee said employers accept the cap. Companies, he added, must take steps to nurture Singaporeans as their core.
'If you replace your core with all foreigners because of short-term expediency, then I start to question the viability of the company in the long run,' Mr Lee added.
Mr Lim, NTUC secretary-general, said the guidelines give companies access to foreign manpower, yet help Singaporeans benefit from good jobs and wages.
He said employers and workers need to change their mindsets of each other. Some employers seem to believe that Singapore workers are not willing to take on low-level jobs, not able to take on high-skilled jobs, and that there are not enough of them to fill mid-level jobs, he added.
As for Singaporeans, many of them say employers are not willing to pay better for low-level jobs, are not doing enough to help them move up to higher-level jobs and view them as not able to take on mid-level jobs.
Said Mr Lim: 'So as long as we're caught in this mindset on both sides, we'll forever be in a no-win situation.'
Maintaining Singaporean core
A NEW section has been added to the revised Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. It shows employers what they can do to maintain a Singaporean core in their workforce.
Ensuring jobs advertised are open to Singaporeans. The guidelines will state explicitly that 'words or phrases that exclude Singaporeans or indicate preference for non-Singaporeans should not be used in job advertisements'.
Working with educational institutions, career centres and recruitment agencies to attract and recruit Singaporeans.
Developing skills and expertise of Singaporean employees for higher-level jobs.
Why Singaporeans cry foul: Three case studies
Case Study 1: Foreigners hiring fellow countrymen
A Singaporean known only as Ms Tan complained to the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep) that a foreign manager at her IT firm preferred to hire his own countrymen rather than qualified Singaporeans. Singaporeans thus became a minority in her company, she said.
The company told Tafep that it had difficulties in hiring Singaporeans with relevant skills. But after Tafep reviewed its hiring processes, the management accepted that some of its departments had seen an increased representation from a particular country in recent years.
The company agreed to monitor its hiring patterns more closely and also to put in place fair recruitment procedures, such as involving persons of more than one nationality in the selection process. It also made a commitment to hire and develop Singaporeans as the core of its workforce.
Case Study 2: Discriminatory practices by an employment agency
An employment agency specialising in foreign recruitment told its clients by e-mail that foreigners were more hard-working, less choosy and job-hop less than Singaporeans.
After Tafep stepped in, the agency corrected its e-mail and pledged not to do so again.
It counselled and warned the manager involved before making a public apology. The agency also agreed to send its staff for the relevant training.
Alerted to the case, the Manpower Ministry held its own investigation before issuing a written warning to the agency for acting in a manner detrimental to public interest.
Case Study 3: Over-reliance on foreigners
Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin shared an anecdote of a chief executive who was inundated by complaints from his Singaporean workers that the company was employing too many foreigners from certain countries.
The CEO was surprised as he was not aware of these practices. He said many of his employees left for another company which did not hire too many foreigners.
The CEO also shared his company's workforce figures, which 'didn't make very good reading' for a company based here, said Mr Tan.
Guidelines for Singaporeans to remain core of workforce
By Ong Dai Lin, TODAY, 1 Nov 2011
Guidelines for Singaporeans to remain core of workforce
By Ong Dai Lin, TODAY, 1 Nov 2011
New guidelines have been drawn up by a tripartite committee to ensure Singaporeans remain the core of the country's workforce.
The Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) unveiled at a press conference yesterday its enhanced guidelines which advise employers to "make reasonable efforts to attract and consider Singaporeans for job positions on merit, and to train and develop their potential and careers".
Some examples of these efforts include ensuring that jobs advertised must be open to Singaporeans, working with educational institutions, career centres and recruitment agencies to attract and recruit Singaporeans, and developing skills and expertise of Singaporean employees for higher level jobs.
Speaking at a separate tripartism forum yesterday, labour chief Lim Swee Say said: "The unions and the labour movement have not pushed for a Singaporeans-only guideline. In fact, if you study the input from the labour movement carefully, we make it very clear (that) what we are pushing for is to establish and nurture a core of Singaporean workers in every major sector of the economy."
Mr Lim, who is also a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, added: "We do object if certain industries, certain enterprises pursue globalisation to the extreme and basically keep going back to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for more foreign manpower, and keep telling the MOM that Singaporean workers are not willing, not able, not enough."
At the press conference, National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Heng Chee How, who co-chaired the TAFEP, reiterated that the new guidelines are not "populist". The aim is to find a "practical, sustainable and realistic way forward" for Singaporean workers and companies, he said.
Singapore National Employer Federation vice-president Bob Tan, who also co-chaired the TAFEP, noted that currently Singaporeans do form the core of the workforce in most companies. "It's just that, in recent years, with high economic growth and more foreigners coming to Singapore ... people feel, rightly or wrongly, that there's an encroachment into their job opportunities and prospects," he said.
Since TAFEP was set up in 2006, almost all the 350 employers it has received complaints against have heeded its advice.
Around the world, countries have taken different approaches on this issue. In some places, for instance, employers must put up recruitment ads and show they were unsuccessful in hiring locals before hiring foreigners.
On why Singapore is not having similar mandatory requirements, Mr Tan told Today that the cost and time involved would force many businesses to fold. "That's not very helpful because the number of discriminatory employers are very few."
Employers that Today spoke to welcomed the new guideline but some reiterated their difficulties in getting Singaporean workers.
At Peranakan restaurant True Blue Cuisine, 16 of its 20 employees are Singaporeans. Its director, Ms Irene Ong, said the restaurant has been relying on retirees and part-time workers. Said Ms Ong: "We can't get young Singaporeans to work for us … some think it's below them to work in the F&B industry."
Govt, bosses, unions - things to get 'noisier'
More vocal climate adds strain on ties, but tension is good: Tan Chuan-Jin
By Toh Yong Chuan, The Straits Times, 1 Nov 2011
THE Government, employers and unions have previously solved problems quietly behind the scenes, but things will get 'a bit noiser' going forward, Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin said yesterday.
'That is something that we will take in our stride,' he told the participants at yesterday's Tripartite Forum.
Not long after, a union leader proved the junior minister right when he said that the Government had not done enough to protect Singaporeans in recessions.
Singapore Shell Employees' Union president Yeap Tong Ming charged that Singaporeans were retrenched while foreigners kept their jobs during the downturns in 1986 and 1998.
'Our Government should protect the workers during retrenchment... Come to the crunch, Singaporeans were retrenched first and foreigners stayed, whereas in the neighbouring country it was the other way round,' Mr Yeap said during a dialogue.
Mr Tan asked Mr Yeap if that was fact or perception.
'It is a fact, that's why I raised it here,' insisted Mr Yeap.
Labour chief Lim Swee Say and Singapore National Employers Federation president Stephen Lee, who were also on the discussion panel, made it plain they disagreed with Mr Yeap.
Mr Lim said that foreign workers help Singapore grow in an upturn and act as a buffer during recessions. The labour chief added that in the recession two years ago, the Government's Jobs Credit Scheme helped many Singaporeans keep their jobs, even as employers allowed foreign workers' work passes to expire without renewal.
Agreeing, Mr Lee said that during economic downturns, the impact on Singaporeans was smaller because companies found it easier to let foreigners go as most were hired on contract. 'This does not mean no Singaporeans were retrenched,' he added.
According to the Manpower Ministry, when retrenchments hit a five-year peak in 2008, four in 10 workers laid off were foreigners, even though they made up just one-third of the workforce then.
Mr Tan urged the audience to distinguish perception from reality. Singapore cannot 'generate a xenophobic reaction', he cautioned: 'We cannot go down the path of other countries and beat the nationalistic drum when you stir up emotions.'
He explained the Government's approach to foreign workers. In the last few years, the surge in foreign workers coincided with economic growth. Incomes went up with employment levels. But the Government is now moderating the inflow. He assured Singaporeans that 'we will continue to protect our workers'.
On the new political landscape and its impact on tripartite relations, Mr Tan said: 'We need to become more vocal, we need to voice our opinions, because that's the expectation of the ground today... so-called new normal.'
That will increase the strains and pressures on the tripartite relationship, but he believes these can be overcome. 'The tension is good and we should accept it,' he said.
Bosses back pro-Singaporean hiring guidelines
By Kor Kian Beng, Toh Yong Chuan & Jonathan Kwok, The Straits Times, 2 Nov 2011
Employers from several sectors on Tuesday gave their support to new guidelines aimed at keeping Singaporeans at the core of the workforce and stamping out discriminatory practices that favour foreigners.
But these bosses also spoke of difficulties in hiring Singaporeans, and how they plan to overcome them.
Mrs Seah-Khoo Ee Boon, senior vice-president of human resource and training at Resorts World Sentosa, said the integrated resort knew it would be hard to entice Singaporeans into the hospitality sector, where jobs are seen as 'tough, unappreciated and pay little'.
Thus, since 2007, it has worked with government agencies, job-matching centres and educational institutions, and held about 100 recruitment talks and fairs to attract suitable local candidates.
The resort also regularly reviews its salaries, trains its employees and provides job transfer opportunities to retain its local staff, added Mrs Seah-Khoo.
As a result, 70 per cent of its 13,000-strong workforce are locals.
A spokesman for global rig-builder Keppel Corp said all things being equal, it prefers to hire locals. But it finds it tough to attract locals for shipyard positions, such as tradesmen and production workers.
Still, it invests in training and development programmes and makes sure its job advertisements do not indicate a preference for non-Singaporeans, said the spokesman.
The new guidelines were launched by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep) on Monday.
The guidelines urge employers to make reasonable efforts to keep job advertisements open to Singaporeans, attract locals into their industry, and provide opportunities for them to move into higher-level roles.
Mr Bob Tan, co-chairman of Tafep and a vice-president of the Singapore National Employers Federation, assured employers that Tafep would take a 'very practical' approach when dealing with complaints of unfair treatment.
He said: 'The spirit of the guidelines is much more important. If there is a complaint, Tafep will come in and look at the individual case and make sure that we have a full understanding of the facts.'
Employer groups floated ideas to address difficulties employers might face in following the guidelines.
Singapore Manufacturers' Federation secretary-general Gwee Seng Kwong said its members ensure Singaporeans remain at the core of their workforces, and stick strictly to the foreign worker quota. Still, they struggle to attract locals to fill jobs in the sector.
Mr Gwee proposed that manufacturers work with the Government to brand manufacturing as a more desirable career, and cluster together so they can recruit Singaporeans more effectively.
Mr Benjamin Koh, chief executive of Addicon Logistics Management, which specialises in transporting garments, said small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) like his might find it harder to adopt the guidelines as they are cost-conscious and prefer cheaper foreign manpower.
He suggested that more be done to foster a strong culture of hiring locals among employers, adding that Japanese companies have that practice.
For SMEs that abide by the guidelines, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises president Lawrence Leow proposed a Tafep logo that they can use in job advertisements, to indicate that they are good employers.
Union leaders also had suggestions.
National Transport Workers' Union executive secretary Ong Ye Kung urged employers to take a leaf from the book of public transport companies. They promote local bus drivers to supervisory positions and get them to mentor foreign drivers, he said.
National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Heng Chee How, also a Tafep co-chair, said employers should restructure lower-end jobs to attract Singaporeans, and ensure that qualified Singaporeans have good access to middle- and higher-level jobs.
Mr Zainudin Nordin, a labour MP who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, suggested a blacklist to name and shame employers who persistently flout the guidelines.
He said: 'You will be surprised how effective that can be. But I imagine that would be the last lever.'
DISCRIMINATION AND EMPLOYABILITY
Workers must also change
ST Forum, Alvin Teo, 4 Nov 2011
THERE is another facet of job hiring that should be addressed, namely, how Singaporeans should make themselves more valuable to employers ('Don't discriminate against Singaporeans'; Tuesday).
As an employer, I prize three qualities that make an employee invaluable: his attitude, skill sets and the cost of hiring him in relation to the economy.
If an employee has these qualities, his employability is unlikely to be affected, even in a recession.
Why would any company let such a standout employee go?
Similarly, when it is an employee's market and when bosses seek to recruit more staff, their first offers would go to citizens who display great attitude, are of better quality and economically cost-competitive.
I do not subscribe to discriminatory hirings and I do not think that such hirings are widespread.
Companies exist for profits and if an employee displays these three qualities and is not hired because of discriminatory practices, it would only hurt the firm.
My sense is that Singaporeans must improve their attitude towards work to remain employable. The image that sticks with the Singaporean worker is that he is choosy and tends to job-hop.
He would leave a company for a pay rise of a few hundred dollars rather than stay and acquire the right skill sets and experience.
Instant gratification, rather than patience and perseverance, is another drawback. Many Singaporean workers today have become soft and easily discouraged when things do not go their way.
They should stop complaining and ask themselves objectively whether they can compete.
We should examine whether we are still as hungry for success as our predecessors, and willing to work as hard and smart to remain competitive, instead of taking the easy way out by blaming the Government, which is doing an excellent job.
We can remain employable only by having a great attitude, being of better quality and being more cost-competitive.
Restrictions and quotas will not help the employability of citizens. Instead, they will make Singaporean workers more impatient for success, as well as soft and vulnerable in the long run.
Labour chief Lim Swee Say and Singapore National Employers Federation president Stephen Lee, who were also on the discussion panel, made it plain they disagreed with Mr Yeap.
Mr Lim said that foreign workers help Singapore grow in an upturn and act as a buffer during recessions. The labour chief added that in the recession two years ago, the Government's Jobs Credit Scheme helped many Singaporeans keep their jobs, even as employers allowed foreign workers' work passes to expire without renewal.
Agreeing, Mr Lee said that during economic downturns, the impact on Singaporeans was smaller because companies found it easier to let foreigners go as most were hired on contract. 'This does not mean no Singaporeans were retrenched,' he added.
According to the Manpower Ministry, when retrenchments hit a five-year peak in 2008, four in 10 workers laid off were foreigners, even though they made up just one-third of the workforce then.
Mr Tan urged the audience to distinguish perception from reality. Singapore cannot 'generate a xenophobic reaction', he cautioned: 'We cannot go down the path of other countries and beat the nationalistic drum when you stir up emotions.'
He explained the Government's approach to foreign workers. In the last few years, the surge in foreign workers coincided with economic growth. Incomes went up with employment levels. But the Government is now moderating the inflow. He assured Singaporeans that 'we will continue to protect our workers'.
On the new political landscape and its impact on tripartite relations, Mr Tan said: 'We need to become more vocal, we need to voice our opinions, because that's the expectation of the ground today... so-called new normal.'
That will increase the strains and pressures on the tripartite relationship, but he believes these can be overcome. 'The tension is good and we should accept it,' he said.
Bosses back pro-Singaporean hiring guidelines
By Kor Kian Beng, Toh Yong Chuan & Jonathan Kwok, The Straits Times, 2 Nov 2011
Employers from several sectors on Tuesday gave their support to new guidelines aimed at keeping Singaporeans at the core of the workforce and stamping out discriminatory practices that favour foreigners.
But these bosses also spoke of difficulties in hiring Singaporeans, and how they plan to overcome them.
Mrs Seah-Khoo Ee Boon, senior vice-president of human resource and training at Resorts World Sentosa, said the integrated resort knew it would be hard to entice Singaporeans into the hospitality sector, where jobs are seen as 'tough, unappreciated and pay little'.
Thus, since 2007, it has worked with government agencies, job-matching centres and educational institutions, and held about 100 recruitment talks and fairs to attract suitable local candidates.
The resort also regularly reviews its salaries, trains its employees and provides job transfer opportunities to retain its local staff, added Mrs Seah-Khoo.
As a result, 70 per cent of its 13,000-strong workforce are locals.
A spokesman for global rig-builder Keppel Corp said all things being equal, it prefers to hire locals. But it finds it tough to attract locals for shipyard positions, such as tradesmen and production workers.
Still, it invests in training and development programmes and makes sure its job advertisements do not indicate a preference for non-Singaporeans, said the spokesman.
The new guidelines were launched by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep) on Monday.
The guidelines urge employers to make reasonable efforts to keep job advertisements open to Singaporeans, attract locals into their industry, and provide opportunities for them to move into higher-level roles.
Mr Bob Tan, co-chairman of Tafep and a vice-president of the Singapore National Employers Federation, assured employers that Tafep would take a 'very practical' approach when dealing with complaints of unfair treatment.
He said: 'The spirit of the guidelines is much more important. If there is a complaint, Tafep will come in and look at the individual case and make sure that we have a full understanding of the facts.'
Employer groups floated ideas to address difficulties employers might face in following the guidelines.
Singapore Manufacturers' Federation secretary-general Gwee Seng Kwong said its members ensure Singaporeans remain at the core of their workforces, and stick strictly to the foreign worker quota. Still, they struggle to attract locals to fill jobs in the sector.
Mr Gwee proposed that manufacturers work with the Government to brand manufacturing as a more desirable career, and cluster together so they can recruit Singaporeans more effectively.
Mr Benjamin Koh, chief executive of Addicon Logistics Management, which specialises in transporting garments, said small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) like his might find it harder to adopt the guidelines as they are cost-conscious and prefer cheaper foreign manpower.
He suggested that more be done to foster a strong culture of hiring locals among employers, adding that Japanese companies have that practice.
For SMEs that abide by the guidelines, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises president Lawrence Leow proposed a Tafep logo that they can use in job advertisements, to indicate that they are good employers.
Union leaders also had suggestions.
National Transport Workers' Union executive secretary Ong Ye Kung urged employers to take a leaf from the book of public transport companies. They promote local bus drivers to supervisory positions and get them to mentor foreign drivers, he said.
National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Heng Chee How, also a Tafep co-chair, said employers should restructure lower-end jobs to attract Singaporeans, and ensure that qualified Singaporeans have good access to middle- and higher-level jobs.
Mr Zainudin Nordin, a labour MP who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, suggested a blacklist to name and shame employers who persistently flout the guidelines.
He said: 'You will be surprised how effective that can be. But I imagine that would be the last lever.'
DISCRIMINATION AND EMPLOYABILITY
Workers must also change
ST Forum, Alvin Teo, 4 Nov 2011
THERE is another facet of job hiring that should be addressed, namely, how Singaporeans should make themselves more valuable to employers ('Don't discriminate against Singaporeans'; Tuesday).
As an employer, I prize three qualities that make an employee invaluable: his attitude, skill sets and the cost of hiring him in relation to the economy.
If an employee has these qualities, his employability is unlikely to be affected, even in a recession.
Why would any company let such a standout employee go?
Similarly, when it is an employee's market and when bosses seek to recruit more staff, their first offers would go to citizens who display great attitude, are of better quality and economically cost-competitive.
I do not subscribe to discriminatory hirings and I do not think that such hirings are widespread.
Companies exist for profits and if an employee displays these three qualities and is not hired because of discriminatory practices, it would only hurt the firm.
My sense is that Singaporeans must improve their attitude towards work to remain employable. The image that sticks with the Singaporean worker is that he is choosy and tends to job-hop.
He would leave a company for a pay rise of a few hundred dollars rather than stay and acquire the right skill sets and experience.
Instant gratification, rather than patience and perseverance, is another drawback. Many Singaporean workers today have become soft and easily discouraged when things do not go their way.
They should stop complaining and ask themselves objectively whether they can compete.
We should examine whether we are still as hungry for success as our predecessors, and willing to work as hard and smart to remain competitive, instead of taking the easy way out by blaming the Government, which is doing an excellent job.
We can remain employable only by having a great attitude, being of better quality and being more cost-competitive.
Restrictions and quotas will not help the employability of citizens. Instead, they will make Singaporean workers more impatient for success, as well as soft and vulnerable in the long run.
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